USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II > Part 9
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Mr. Winter supports the republican party at the polls and does much to pro- mote its interests. However, in the performance of his official duties he sub- ordinates partisanship to the public welfare and under his administration the business of the town has been transacted in a most able manner. Ilis religious faith is that of the Seventh Day Adventist church.
HARRY E. WELLS.
Ilarry E. Wells first came to Lincoln in 1875 and has since been a resident of the capital. He removed to this state from La Fayette, Indiana, and is now one of the best known and most popular men in Lancaster county, where for the past six years he has capably and acceptably filled the office of county clerk. Hle was born in La Fayette, Indiana, March 30, 1848. The father, James Edward Wells, a contracting carpenter, was born in Pennsylvania and died in 1861, and the mother, who bore the maiden name of Sophia Ford, was also a native of Pennsylvania, in which state their marriage was celebrated. They afterward removed to La Fayette, Indiana, and there Mrs. Wells passed away in 1894. They had two sons and three daughters. The three sisters are all residing in Lincoln, namely : Anna Margaret, now the widow of Colonel Alexander Iloge- land, widely known all over the United States as "the newsboys' friend"; Amanda E., the widow of J. H. McMurtry ; and Mary E., the wife of F. D. Stone, of Lincoln. The brother of our subject is Curtis E. Wells, of Oklahoma City, where he is engaged in the real estate business.
Harry E. Wells was reared and educated in his native city and was graduated from the La Fayette high school when a youth of seventeen years. For six years thereafter he held a position in the La Fayette postoffice, after which he removed to Louisville, Kentucky, and for some years held a responsible position with the firm of Fairbanks, Morse & Company, scale manufacturers. He then returned to La Fayette, Indiana, but soon afterward came to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he arrived forty-one years ago. For several years he was employed in a wholesale grocery house. In 1801 he entered the sheriff's office in a clerical capacity and a few months later he was appointed deputy county clerk, entering upon the duties of that position in 1892. He has since been in the office, covering a period of twenty-four years. He continued to act as deputy county clerk for eighteen years and in 1909 was elected to the office of county clerk, to which he was reelected in 1911 and 1913. He is now serving his third term and his popularity is such that his fourth election in 1916 is practically assured. The law was changed so that now the county clerk is elected on the even years instead of the odd, so that when Mr. Wells has finished his third term he will have served seven years as county clerk, in addition to eighteen years as deputy. He is regarded as one of the leaders of the republican party in Lancaster county and is a most untiring worker in its support. His public service has been character- ized by efficiency and by courtecus treatment to all who have come to him with
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business interests. He is familiar with every detail of the work and in selecting assistants has been most careful to secure those well qualified for their duties.
On the 25th of January, 1882, in Lincoln, Mr. Wells was united in marriage to Miss Annie L. Gillespie, by whom he has three living children, namely : Myrtle. now Mrs. G. W. MacDougall; Ruth; and Charles E. All reside in Lincoln. Mr. Wells is widely known in Masonic circles as a Royal Arch Mason and he also belongs to the Lincoln Commercial Club, cooperating in all of its well defined plans for promoting the city's upbuilding and progress. In fact he is most public-spirited and his interest in the city's welfare is manifest in many tangible and helpful ways.
CHARLES C. BEACHI.
Charles C. Beach, who is living retired in University Place, was formerly engaged in farming but after removing to town turned his attention to ear- pentering. His birth occurred in Franklin county, Ohio, on the Ist of Janti- ary, 1846, and he is a son of Newton Beach, also a native of that county. The father engaged in farming and also worked in the timber to some extent in the days when the custom was to hew logs and shave shingles. He made the lumber which was used in the construction of many of the houses and barns in his community and was an excellent workman in that line. In 1852 he removed westward, settling in Iroquois county, Illinois, three miles from Onarga. He cultivated his farm, to which he held title, until 1873 when he went to Kansas with his son-in-law, O. M. Shore, and from that state removed to Cass county, Nebraska, the following year. He passed his remaining days there, his demise occurring in August, 1876. While still a resident of Ohio he was married to Miss Elizabeth Holt, who was born in Vermont, but was taken to the Buckeye state when a child. She survived her husband for many years, dying in Uni- versity Place, Nebraska, in April, 1910, when eighty-six years old. She was the mother of two children, the sister of our subject being Ella, who is the wife of O. M. Shore and resides at University Place.
Charles C. Beach grew to manhood in Ohio and Illinois, and as soon as old and strong enough began assisting his father with the farm work. He con- tinted to reside in Iroquois county, Illinois, for several years following his marriage, but in 1873 went to Cass county, Nebraska, whence four years later he came to Lancaster county and purchased eighty acres of railroad land in Stevens Creek precinct. At that time this county was undeveloped and the con- ditions of life were those of a frontier region. His first home was a frame build- ing fourteen by eighteen feet, but shortly after taking up his residence there he erected an addition to his house and in 1890 he built a commodious dwelling. As soon as possible he brought his land under cultivation and as time passed he made many improvements upon his place until it became one of the most valuable farm properties of his locality. He devoted his time and attention to its operation until 1900 when he removed to Prairie Home, where he purchased two lots and erected a residence, In 1905, however; he disposed of his property CIS there and built his present attractive home in University Place. For several
CHARLES C. BEACH, HOME AND AUTOMOBILE
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years after giving up farming he engaged in carpentering, and, although he is practically retired, he still does considerable work in repairing his neighbors' houses and in keeping everything about his own place in excellent condition. He never served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, but being of a mechanical turn of mind has developed a high degree of skill in that work.
On the 26th of March, 1867, in Iroquois county, Illinois, Mr. Beach was united in marriage to Miss Susan Hall, who was born in England but became a resident of Erie county, Ohio, when a child. To this union have been born three children as follows: W. S., who is employed by the Buick Automobile Company of Lincoln, married Miss Bertha Griswald and they have four chil- dren, Carl, Clifford, Bernice and Gilbert. Ella is the wife of John Hedges, who is farming our subject's homestead and she has two children, George and Nellie. C. C., the youngest of the family, died when twenty years of age.
Mr. Beach is a prohibitionist and loyally supports the candidates of that party. While living on the farm he served for three years as justice of the peace and for one year as assessor and his record in these offices was highly creditable, alike to his ability and his public spirit. In religious faith he is a Methodist and his daily life attests the sincerity of his belief. He has witnessed the greater part of the development of the county and takes great pleasure in the knowledge that he has aided in the agricultural progress of his locality. In the early years of his residence in the county prices for grain were very low and at times he hauled corn to Lincoln as Tom Lowry, an old time miller there, paid fifteen cents per bushel although the price at Waverly was but twelve cents. The first harvesting machine which he used was a McCormick self-rake which was considered a wonderful invention at the time, although it was a primitive implement compared with the McCormick self-binders which he later owned. He has always been willing to adopt new methods which promise to be of value and his progressiveness has been one factor in his gratifying success.
JOHN J. GILLILAN.
John J. Gillilan, who for about twenty years was an active figure in real estate circles in Lincoln, continuing in the business up to the time of his death, which occurred August 22, 1901, was at the time forty-seven years of age. IIe was born in Algonquin, Illinois, October 4, 1854, his parents being John and Belinda Gillilan, both of whom were natives of Virginia. They removed to Illinois, however, at a very early period in the development of that state and settled on a farm at Algonquin. In 1881 they became residents of Lincoln, Nebraska, where they spent their remaining days.
John J. Gillilan was accorded liberal educational privileges and after attend- ing the public schools entered Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio, from which he was graduated in due course of time. In 1881 he became connected with busi- ness interests in Lincoln, opening a real estate office and conducting his agency until his death, which occurred twenty years later.
On the 6th of July, 1886, Mr. Gillilan was married to Miss Susie G. Houtz. a daughter of Dr. William ik Susan butzimGte fifaRes of Pennsyl- Vol. II-5
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vania. Her father was born in Dauphin county, that state. October 12, 1830, and was graduated from the Girard Medical School of Philadelphia. For several years he engaged in the practice of medicine in connection with his father, Dr. William G. Houtz. In 1855 he went to Troy Grove, La Salle county, Illinois, and it was there that Mrs. Gillilan was born. For twenty-five years Dr. Houtz engaged in the practice of medicine. Ile had two brothers who were soldiers in the Civil war, and he was among the first physicians to reach the field after the battle of Corinth, there rendering great service by caring for the sick and wounded. He also gave valuable assistance to his country by rendering pro- fessional aid at home to the families of soldiers who were at the front and for this service he asked no financial compensation. In 1880 he removed to Lin- coln, Nebraska, where he continued to make his home until his death. In this city he did not engage in general practice but confined his professional aid to old soldiers and to personal friends, among whom were the late General John M. Thayer and General Victor Vifquin. Dr. Houtz was married three times, losing his first two wives by death. He first wedded Susan Mease, and by that mar- riage there were born four children, of whom two died in infancy, while the other two, Mrs. Aldridge D. Kitchen and Mrs. John J. Gillilan now survive and are residents of Lincoln. The mother passed away in 1862, while the death of Dr. Houtz occurred June 30, 1906.
To Mr. and Mrs. Gillilan were born two children: Houtz, who died Decem- ber 13, 1913: and Ruth, the wife of Dr: Donald B. Steenburg, a resident of Aurora, Nebraska. Mr. Gillilan died August 22, 1901, and in his passing the community lost a representative and worthy citizen. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and in November, 1890, he was elected on that ticket to the Nebraska State Legislature, serving as a member of the general assembly during the twenty-second session. In religious faith he was a Pres- byterian, while Mrs. Gillilan is a Congregationalist. She owns the fine home which she occupies at No. 1989 Harwood Avenue. Mr. Gillilan was well known as a citizen, as a representative business man, and as a loyal friend. He was devoted to the welfare of his family and found his greatest happiness when promoting their interests.
PROFESSOR WILLIAM HENRY GARDNER, A. M.
The importance of the teaching profession cannot be overestimated. While it is necessary for the best interests of a community that all of its officers be men capable of discharging their specific duties, it is of the utmost importance that the man selected to manage the educational affairs of a county be one qual- ified to the fullest extent for the responsibilities that devolve upon him in shaping methods and raising standards that will improve the educational facilities that are the foundation of later success for every individual. The citizens of Lan- caster county felt that they made wise choice in selecting Professor William Ilenry Gardner for the office which he now occupies. He was born on a farm in Lee county, Illinois, July 19, 1855, and comes of a family of intellectual force. The Gardners arecoffEnglish descent buy the family was founded in America
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in early colonial days by ancestors who settled in New England. Represen- tatives of the name served in the Revolutionary war. Members of the family removed from New England to New York and it was in the latter state that James Gardner, grandfather of Professor Gardner, was born. He married Malinda Hammond, a native of Vermont, and on the 9th of July, 1822, in Steuben county. New York, they became the parents of a son whom they called Joseph. Removing westward, Joseph Gardner was married in Lee county, Illinois, in 1851, to Miss Hannah Maria Shaw, who was born in Erie county, New York, August 17, 1831. In 1876, with their four youngest children, they removed from Illinois to Del Norte, Colorado. Joseph Gardner was a farmer and teacher and he filled the office of justice of the peace in both Illinois and Colorado. At Del Norte both he and his wife passed away and were laid to rest, her death occurring January 17, 1878, while Mr. Gardner died many years later, having passed the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten. In his carlier manhood he had taught school for many years in Ice county, Illinois, and had proven a most capable educator. His wife was also a teacher at the time of her marriage and it seems but a natural sequence that Professor Gardner should have turned to the same profession. His father was everywhere known as Squire Gardner because of his official service as justice of the peace, in which connection he discharged his duties in a most capable and faithful manner.
Professor Gardner is the eldest of five children who grew to maturity, the others who survive being : Sadie, the widow of George Myers and a resident of Monte Vista, Colorado; and John S. Gardner, living in Denver. Those who have passed away were William James, Sarah, Lucy and James M. The first two died in infancy. Lucy became the wife of Albert Myers, a brother of George Myers, who became the husband of Sadie Gardner, and it was in 1913 that the death of Mrs. Lucy Myers occurred. James M. Gardner, a civil en- gineer, died in Del Norte, Colorado, in 1893.
William H. Gardner was reared on a farm in Lee county, Illinois, and attended school at Lee Center and at Ashton until he was eighteen years of age. He then became a teacher in the public schools of Lee county. continuing his professional work there through three successive winter seasons while spend- ing a portion of the summer vacation periods as a student in the Rock River Seminary at Mount Morris, Illinois. In 1876, when twenty-one years of age, he became principal of the public schools at Elizabeth, Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and after two years there spent became principal of the schools of Hanover. Illinois, where he remained for four years. In 1881 he came to Nebraska and for four years was superintendent of schools in Pawnee City. Ile afterward spent five years as superintendent of schools at Tecumseh, Nebraska, and two years at Wymore, Nebraska, and a similar period at Nebraska City. From 1893 until 1899 he resided in University Place, near Lincoln, his attention being devoted largely to the interests of the Nebraska Wesleyan University for a time, but during the last five years he was superintendent of the public schools of University Place. From 1899 until 1904 he was superintendent of the schools of Auburn, Nebraska, and in the latter year he became superintendent of the city schools of Fremont, where he continued until 1968, when he returned to Lancaster county and again tooktin dis/ residenceio kois off ace, where he
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still resides. In May, 1911, he was appointed to the office of county superin- tendent of schools by the board of county commissioners. He has held the position ever since, having been thrice elected to the office, his first reelection occurring in November, 1911, and his second in November, 1913. During all of the years which he has spent as a teacher and school superintendent he has also been a student, constantly broadening his knowledge by reading, investigation and study, and in June, 1910, the Nebraska Wesleyan University conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree after he had done much work in the school and passed the necessary examinations. On the 15th of June, 1911, the Uni- versity of Nebraska conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree following special work which he did there.
On the 3d of July, 1878, Mr. Gardner was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Nesbitt, by whom he has four children. Gertrude, a teacher by profes- sion, is a graduate of both the Nebraska Wesleyan University and the Uni- versity of Nebraska. She was head of the Latin department and is now dean of women in the State Normal School at Kearney, Nebraska. Mary is the wife of James F. Powell, a newspaper publisher at Ottumwa, Iowa. She is also a graduate of the Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska and by her marriage has become the mother of three sons, namely: Bobbie; and Jack and Billy, who are twins. The third child of Mr. Gardner is John MI., an architect by profession, residing at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He married Allie Furlong. The fourth child is Charles Henry Gardner, a civil engineer, who was in the service of the government and the Burlington railroad for four years, but is now farming in the irrigated district of Scotts Bluff county.
Professor Gardner is a republican in politics and since establishing his home in University Place he has served as a member of the city council and has also been honored with the office of mayor. Fraternally he is a Mason, having attained the Knights Templar degree in the York Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He is likewise con- nected with the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He belongs to the Nebraska Schoolmaster's Club and to the Commercial Chibs of both Lincoln and University Place. He is a member and steward of the Methodist Episcopal church at University Place and his efforts have been an effective force in advancing moral progress as well as promoting intellectual development. His standards of life are high and he has done much to inculcate high principles among those who have come under his teaching, many acknowledging his influence for good upon their lives.
ELLIOTT JOHN CLEMENTS.
Lincoln has always been distinguished for the high character of her bench and bar, and prominent among the distinguished lawyers of the city is Elliott John Clements, whom the consensus of opinion places in the front rank of the profes- sion. He was born on a farm in Allegan county, Michigan, September 30, 1856. and is a son of Cyrus D. Clements, who was a millwright and mechanic. He was born in Trumbin @fant ?. 16ho! and Was there married to Mary Elizabeth
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Hughes, a native of Pennsylvania. In 1853 he removed with his family to Allegan county, Michigan, where he and his wife continued to reside for about forty years. The father followed contracting and building and did considerable millwright work, erecting a number of mills. He was born in 1830 and his wife in 1833 and they were but twenty-one and eighteen years of age when mar- ried. In 1893 they came to Nebraska settling in Ord, Valley county, where their son Elliott John had located in 1884. There the father passed away in 1898 while the mother's death occurred in 1913, the remains of both being interred in the Ord cemetery. In the family were four sons and three daughters, and two brothers and two sisters of Elliott J. Clements are yet living, namely : Edwin P., a member of the bar at Ord, Nebraska, where he has resided since 1888; Nettie L., now the wife of Daniel Burke of Paul, Idaho; Cora E., the wife of Homer D. Leggett of Ord; and Arthur A., who was formerly an active member of the bar but is now conducting a fruit ranch in Colorado. All three sons, who survive, have become lawyers. The brother and sister, who have passed away, were Eugene L. Clements of Ord, who was a farmer and blacksmith and died in 1900, and Mrs. Alice A. Hoffmaster, who died in Greeley, Nebraska, in 1911.
Elliott John Clements attended a country school in his boyhood and when fifteen years of age he began to work with his father at the builder's trade and under him mastered carpentering. After leaving the country school he attended the high school at Otsego, Michigan, and was also a student in the Pine Grove Seminary at Allegan, Michigan. When nineteen years of age he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for six years, and in the summer season engaged in carpentering and to some extent in farm work. In 1881 he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, pursuing the full two years' course at that time and being graduated in 1883, his diploma bearing the name of Thomas B. Cooley, the noted legal author. Mr. Clements was admitted to the bar at Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1883, but spent the summer of that year at home assisting his father in buikling a new residence, the former dwelling having been destroyed by fire. During the winter of 1883-4 he taught school in Allegan county. He had previously paid his way through the uni- versity with money he had made at school teaching and by work at the carpen- ter's trade and he again took up the profession in order to obtain a financial start ere entering upon active law practice.
In 1884 Mr. Clements removed to Nebraska and was admitted to the bar in Wheeler county. He practiced law at Ord, Valley county, from 1884 until 1900 and served as the first county attorney there, occupying the position for four years. In 1900 he came to Lincoln and has since been one of the city's leading attorneys, accorded a large and distinctively representative clientage. He is also a director of the Farmers State Bank at York, Nebraska. Though he has never held a judicial position, his friends frequently call him "judge" because of his service as referee on different occasions, appointed as such by the court. He stoutly disclaims any claim to the title however. He served as a referee in an important case in Omaha in 1898, to which position he was appointed by the state supreme court.
On the 25th of December, 1885, Mr. Clements was married to Miss Ettie Rogers, of Ord, and thesiyetizaghoy Microsof @fe of Ralph B.
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Sill, of Lincoln, and the mother of a daughter, Virginia Louise, who was born May 8, 1914, and who is a great favorite with her grandfather and he is with her.
In politics Mr. Clements is a republican but has never held but one office. He belongs to the Lancaster County and the State Bar Associations and frater- nally is a member of Lancaster Lodge, No. 54. A. F. & A. M., of the Knights of Pythias and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is likewise a member of the Lincoln Commercial Club. Although long a Unitarian in religious belief, he is not now actively identified with any church. He is interested in all matters that deeply affect his fellow townsmen and the public at large and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, being ever ready to support his position by intelligent argument. The major part of his time, thought and effort, however, are given to his law practice and he is recognized as one of the distinguished members of the Nebraska bar.
WILLIAM E. BARKLEY.
William E. Barkley, who at the time of his death, which occurred July 13, 1905, was president of the Lincoln Safe Deposit Company, was for many years prominently connected with business interests of this city. He arrived here in 1881, removing from his native state of Indiana. Ilis birth occurred January 24. 1837, in Rossburg, Indiana, his parents being William E. and America ( Ross ) Barkley, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Indiana. They were farming people and William E. Barkley, Sr., removed to Indiana during its terri- torial days. There he purchased raw land which he converted into a rich and productive farm, continuing its cultivation until his life's labors were ended in death in 1839. His widow survived him for almost seventy-five years, passing away in 1913 at the notably old age of ninety-seven years.
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